PHOTO: Teens taking part in Portland Parks & Recreation's Portland World Cup Soccer tournament enjoyed career days at a variety of prominent organizations last, including Portland Fire & Rescue. The bureau sponsors and coaches teams in the Portland World Cup Soccer Tournament, and gave youth a tour of their training facility in East County last week – in hopes some of them will be inspired to become firefighters. Credit: Lisa Loving

U-Pick Berry Fields Open Now

Wanting to visit a u-pick strawberry field to harvest berries for the perfect pie? Hoping to take the family to an on-farm festival this summer?

Check out the Oregon’s Bounty website at www.oregonfb.org to quickly and easily locate family farms and ranches in your area with roadside stands, u-pick fields, on-farm festivals, CSAs, and more.

Visit oregonfb.org, click on the Oregon’s Bounty box, and search for specific ag products like marionberries or cherries – or search by category, which include festivals, nursery products, or produce.

Oregon’s Bounty is a listing of 325 family farms and ranches that sell their freshly grown fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy products, flowers, herbs, and more directly to the public.

The American Red Cross health & safety is offering a variety of classes over the next few weeks across the state. If you are a professional rescuer or health care worker, or just want to learn live-saving skills to benefit family, friends and co-workers this summer, now is the time to enroll. The following classes still have student availability.

Classes at the Portland Office-3131 N Vancouver Ave., include:

Advanced Child Care Training, June 21; Wilderness and Remote First Aid, June 21 and 22 (two-day course); CPR/AED for Professional Rescuers and Health Care Providers Review, June 23.

Portland Mayor Charlie Hales, City Commissioner Steve Novick and Transportation Director Leah Treat invite the public to provide input on how the city can improve the proposed Transportation User Fee at two upcoming town hall meetings.

A Town Hall on the Business and Non-Residential Fee is 8 to 9:30 a.m., Tuesday, June 24, at Venture Portland, 1125 SE Madison St., Suite 112.

A Town Hall on the Residential Fee is 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 25, at Kaiser Permanente’s Town Hall, 3704 N Interstate Ave.

The town hall meetings will provide an opportunity for the public to speak with transportation staff, ask questions and make comments to the Mayor, Commissioner and Director.

For more information about the Our Streets PDX funding conversation and the proposed Transportation User Fee, see the project web page: www.ourstreetspdx.com.

Sunday Parkways Kicks Off

Portland celebrates the 25th Sunday Parkways on June 22 in North Portland, on the same date and in the same neighborhood where the hugely popular summer event series began seven years ago.

The event shuts streets to through traffic and rolls through the neighborhood from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., offering a nine-mile loop of traffic-free streets where people can bicycle, walk, stroll, roll, and play while enjoying music, food and activities along the way. The route connects five parks, including the beautiful Peninsula Park Rose Garden.

The Clar k County Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Program of YWCA Clark County recruits and trains volunteers to advocate for foster children in the county's juvenile dependency court system. As officers of the court, they ensure that the children's needs are recognized and best interests are considered both in the courtroom and in the community. CASA volunteers are asked to meet with the child regularly and are authorized to interview people in the child's life such as social workers, attorneys, teachers, and family members. They attend court hearings and report their findings to the judge. With more than 200 children in Clark County waiting for a CASA volunteer, many more advocates are needed. There are no prerequisites for becoming a CASA other than being at least 21 years of age, clearing an extensive background screening and successfully completing 31.5 hours of training.

YWCA is especially interested in expanding the number of male volunteers and volunteers who are bilingual and/or bicultural. The next training session begins July 1, 2014. If you are interested in learning more about volunteering as a CASA, please visit http://ywcaclarkcounty.com/volunteer or contact Heidi Hiatt at 360-906-9142 or hhiatt@ywcaclarkcounty.org.

Peninsula Park Partners Celebrate Local Youths’ Contributions

All are welcome to a free outdoor screening of the youth-produced Peninsula Park documentary, Through the Years, Through Our Eyes: A Teen View of Peninsula Park.

The event starts at 6:15 p.m. Thursday, June 26, at Peninsula Park, North Ainsworth and Albina, with film screening around 9 p.m.

Special guests include the Portland School of Rock band and Chael Sonnen, mixed martial artist and wrestling champion, who will help showcase the vaunted Peninsula Wrestling Club.

Nominations for the Fourth Annual Nurse of the Year Awards are now open.

This year, March of Dimes will honor nominated nurse caregivers and award 17 of these nurses for their constant care of and compassion for patients.

Nominations may be submitted online at marchofdimes.com/oregon through August 19th. There is no fee to submit a nomination and you may submit multiple nominations. Award recipients will be determined by a selection committee comprised of healthcare professionals. Winners will be announced at the Nurse of the Year Awards breakfast on October 24, 2014, at The Sentinel Hotel (formally The Governor Hotel) in downtown Portland.

"Through the Nurse of the Year Awards, March of Dimes brings together the health care community to pay tribute to the profession of nursing and the often unsung heroes and heroines who save the lives and health of others," said Elizabeth Joscelyn, State Director for March of Dimes, Greater Oregon Chapter.

Nurse of the Year Awards is presented by Moda Health and Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). Platinum sponsors include Legacy Health and Providence Health and Services. Gold sponsors include Cambia Health Solutions and Kaiser Permanente. The event is chaired by Dr. William Johnson, President of Moda Health. "This is a great opportunity to honor outstanding nurses in Oregon and SW Washington and to celebrate the vital role of the nursing profession," said Dr. Johnson.

family-friendly activities and more than 120 vendors selling art crafted from recycled items.

The free event, which this year the Vancouver Downtown Association named as its People’s Choice Favorite Event, will be the final weekend in June in Esther Short Park at West Eighth and Esther Streets. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 28, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, June 29.

The 2014 Recycled Arts Festival will be bigger, better and more fun than ever with something for all ages, including musicians, stilt walkers, jugglers and clowns.

“The festival is a great opportunity to emphasize the importance of reducing and reusing waste in an informative but fun event,” said Don Benton, Environmental Services director.

Artists will display and sell items designed from reused and reclaimed materials, such as: metal, glass and porcelain garden art; recycled paper books and cards; handbags made from album covers; reclaimed turned-wood sculptures, furniture and birdfeeders; jewelry and clocks made from vinyl records; and wall art from reclaimed bicycle parts.

The festival also will feature:

 Music on the park’s main stage beginning at 9:30 a.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. Sunday.

 Hands-on science activities with the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry on Saturday.

Hillsboro, Oregon. Artists have the opportunity to display a sculpture for two years across from the Hillsboro Civic Center. For the last several years, Dancing Chairs, a pair of whimsical sculptures by North Plains sculptor James Schmidt, has enlivened a small plaza on SE Washington Street at SE 2nd Street. Dancing Chairs will be moved to a permanent location at 53rd Avenue Community Park, opening the spot for a new work of art downtown.

Artists may apply with up to six images of existing sculptures through CaFÉ™, or callforentry.org. CaFÉ™ is a web-based service that allows artists to apply for juried competitions. Artists upload their images to the service, and then can easily apply for competitions worldwide. There is no fee for artists to create an account on the system or to apply for this call to artists. The competition is open to artists from Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana, and the deadline to apply is July 2, 2014.

The selected artist will receive a $3000 honorarium for the placement of the work for two years, including installation and removal. The artwork may be for sale, and will be prominently featured on the City of Hillsboro Cultural Arts website.

Placing art in public places is an element of a city-wide wayfinding program. The artwork creates visual landmarks that remind viewers of the creative spirit of the city.

Full details are available at www.hillsboro-oregon.gov/PublicArt.

Independence Day at Fort Vancouver

Tickets are now available for Independence Day at Fort Vancouver presented by Bank of America, taking place on Friday, July 4th at the Fort Vancouver National Site. Families will find a full schedule of activities, culminating with an impressive fireworks show. The event is produced by the nonprofit Fort Vancouver National Trust.

Fort Vancouver has a 50 year history of providing the community with an exceptional fireworks display. Using state of the art fireworks synchronized to music, the 2014 display will once again be launched from Pearson Air Field, providing attendees an exciting fireworks show. Fireworks may not be visible from Portland or the Columbia River.

Featuring live music, games, entertainment, food and more, this event has something fun for everyone. It all begins Friday, July 4, with gates opening at 8 a.m. Entertainment kicks-off at Noon, the Kids' Patriotic Parade presented by Fred Meyer begins at 4 p.m. and the spectacular fireworks show launches at 10:05 p.m. The Vancouver Toyota Main Stage features a wide variety of local and regionally recognized entertainers, including New Social Order and Hit Machine.

General admission is $5 in advance and $7 at the gate for those 13 and over. Kids 12 and under are free. Purchase tickets online at fortvan.org/fourth, or at any SW Washington Fred Meyer location.

With Prime Viewing tickets, attendees will have access to the exclusive Kiewit Prime Viewing area where they will enjoy a 4th of July picnic dinner, the exclusive Alaska Airlines stage, featuring 5 Guys Named Moe, and unobstructed front row seats to the spectacular fireworks show. Prime Viewing tickets are $50 for guests 21 and over, $25 for those under 21 and free for 5 and under.

Other available activities include: * Guided walking tours of the Vancouver Barracks presented by Fit Right NW * $3.00 admission to the reconstructed Fort Vancouver (free for age 15 and under) * Bi-plane rides at Pearson Airport (fee) * Adult beverage pavilion featuring domestic beer and microbrews, wine and more

Getting to the event is convenient with help from C-Tran. Hop on one of C-Tran's shuttles running every 15 minutes from the north side of Westfield Vancouver Mall to the fireworks display from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Return service will be available immediately following the fireworks show. Paid parking lots will be available to the east and west of Fort Vancouver and all downtown metered parking is free for the holiday. Bicyclists are encouraged to bike to the event and leave their bikes at volunteer-staffed bike parking.